Jiang Cha slept until noon. Luckily, she lived alone. She got up, rinsed the knife, sheathed it, and put it away in her space.
I washed and hung up the clothes I wore in yesterday's fight. Luckily, nothing got spilled on them, or I'd have lost them. No wonder gangsters wear leather jackets; they're easy to care for and resist getting dirty.
I changed into the shirt I bought in Shanghai, khaki pants, and small leather shoes. I put on the Plum Blossom watch Aunt Liu gave me and carried a small leather shoulder bag.
Jiang Cha, a truly dazzling presence in this era, planned to visit the renowned Friendship Store. Uncle Liu's aunt had given her three hundred yuan in foreign exchange coupons and a temporary ID.
The slogan here at that time was: Whatever is available on the market, ours is the best; whatever is not available on the market, we have it here; whatever is popular abroad, we also have it here.
I rode my bike to Jianguomen, the newly built Friendship Store Building. It looked quite impressive, with a fence blocking the entrance. Someone at the gate checked my ID; I only needed my passport and valid ID to enter.
On the way here, Jiang Cha was still wondering what would be inside. He guessed it would be some silk, tea or other souvenirs bought by foreigners.
Anyone who enters will find it beautifully decorated. The first-floor ceiling is adorned with distinctive Chinese palace lanterns, their wicks hanging long enough to not touch your head. The counters on either side are bright and clean, and the staff speak softly.
If you listen carefully, you'll notice that everyone is communicating in a foreign language, making it completely accessible to foreigners. There are some medicinal herbs on the first floor, including high-quality ginseng, deer antlers, cordyceps, and so on.
Silk from Hangzhou, double-sided embroidery from Suzhou, snow lotus cashmere sweaters from the capital; cloisonné vases, wine glasses and even cloisonné necklaces, earrings and bracelets; purple clay tea sets; porcelain; various porcelain handicrafts; silk dolls (a kind of doll handed down from the Tang Dynasty, purely handmade); fans and other traditional handicrafts.
The food here is common, such as luncheon meat, White Rabbit, etc. There are also some less common ones, such as Edam cheese with a slightly pink rind, white bread and Russian rolls, and butter is sold in small packages.
There's also Amur River caviar from the Hebron Province, plates of white vanilla cream chocolate, and small chocolate egg rolls. It's said that the pastry chefs here all trained in the Soviet Union and make authentic Soviet-style pastries.
There is also a small counter selling flowers and goldfish, which is really rare. The things sold upstairs are all the more popular and luxurious things outside.
Watches, bicycles, refrigerators, pianos, etc. On the tobacco and alcohol counter, in addition to domestic tobacco, Marlboro, and cigars, there are many unfamiliar ginger teas displayed in the window.
The liquor counter has many kinds of domestic liquor, including Moutai, Wuliangye, Fenjiu, Langjiu, Xifeng, as well as red wine, white wine and whiskey.
Jiangcha strolled around for a long time and finally bought two bottles of red wine, a piece of cheese, and some snacks before leaving. She planned to wait until Christmas to come back and see if there would be something better.
I rode my bike to the department store and found a deserted spot on the way to put away my shopping. The packaging was too eye-catching: the Friendship Store logo was printed diagonally on the outside of the bag in red and blue, in both languages.
The huge capital city, clad in black, white, and gray, was too eye-catching. At the clothing counter in the department store, I picked out a short tweed jacket that reached about thigh-length.
I also bought a plaid top, as the weather would be getting cooler sooner or later after the Beginning of Autumn. With the two pieces of clothing in hand, I squeezed into the food counter and bought five pounds of fruit candy.
I struggled to carry it out and bought two Daqianmen cigarettes at the tobacco and liquor counter. I had used up the last of my cigarette coupons and struggled to carry my things home.
I put away everything I had on the way, so I could travel home with light luggage. When I got home, I first took out the fruit candies and cigarettes, and then a pile of bacon.
Divide the food into the following categories: one handful of candy, two strips of bacon, and one pack of cigarettes for each uncle. Wrap them up in oil paper and give them to the uncles in the warehouse tomorrow when they go to work.
These are lifesavers. In the past, they would have been recognized as godparents and would have been honored with filial respect for their entire lives. Jiang Cha still felt that these things were not enough! People are always giving and receiving, and true friendship is revealed in times of adversity.
She was worried about how to get these things over; they were too heavy. She locked the door and went to her grandmother's house again, and sure enough, they were all there.
I agreed with them to come over tomorrow morning to help her get her things. I left two bags of snacks from the Friendship Store for my grandma, but I didn't stay there to eat and just came back.
She planned to wash her new top while the sun was still shining, but since the tweed jacket couldn't be washed, she sprayed some alcohol on it and hung it outside to dry in the sun.
Only then did he sit down in the rocking chair and take a good rest. He didn't know what would happen at work tomorrow! This time, she was really someone he couldn't afford to offend.
I didn't eat dinner, so I just sat outside and ate a small roll. It had a strong sweet cinnamon aroma. I hadn't found a place to exchange currency yet.
When she has time, she will definitely go out and look for it. Just for these delicious foods, it is worth going there twice.
When my childhood friends came over in the morning, Jiangcha and I had already prepared breakfast: a big pot of millet porridge, fried steamed bread slices, fermented tofu, and kimchi.
After eating, I put everything in the basket and rode to work with everyone else. I drank ginger tea on the way and rode forward with trembling legs.
It took over an hour to get to work, and she was panting with exhaustion. These childhood friends were used to it, and none of them were like her. They said hello to the security department, entered the factory, and headed straight for the warehouse.
They had no idea that the security department was discussing them. "You think the Liu family is possessed by evil spirits and dares to provoke others? They are always bragging and kicking iron boards!"
"That's right. I heard that his son used to take advantage of his status to get a lot of good things, but this time they were all found out."
"That's nothing. I heard that several parents of victims went to the meeting. Many of them were fishing for floating objects in the river. They found them, but they lacked great virtue."
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